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LETTERS: Defending Dobson's ministry; good article on income taxes

By: Gazette readers

April 20, 2017Updated: April 20, 2017 at 10:52 am

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Caption +Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, center, attends the memorial service for Watergate figure-turned-evangelist Charles Colson at Washington's National Cathedral, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

So Steve Rabey has done it again. For the past 23 years, he has been writing disrespectful, inaccurate and hurtful editorials about Dr. James Dobson. Please allow me to set the record straight.

First, your readers should know that Dr. Dobson's credentials were distorted this time around. Rabey said he was a schoolteacher and then began a ministry. I wonder why he didn't mention that Dr. Dobson holds a Ph.D. in child development from the University of Southern California, was a professor of pediatrics at USC School of Medicine for 14 years and served on the medical staff of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for 17 years. Also during that time, he published some landmark articles in prestigious journals and served as director of behavioral research in the divisions of medical genetics and child development.

Secondly, Rabey accused Dobson of being one-sided politically in his work. Hardly. He published more than 30 books through the years, and only one of them dealt with the public square. It was titled "Children at Risk" and was about what the culture was doing to boys and girls. Even this book was not really political, in the sense that it didn't promote a party or candidates. Rabey is reflecting the unfair criticism of Jim Daly in this comment. It is true that Dr. Dobson is decidedly pro-life and pro-marriage. Is that so ominous, given that the majority of Americans feel the same way?

It was so implied that Dr. Dobson is only a marketing guy interested in selling his products and books. I know for a fact that he has given away several million in royalties, most of it to Focus on the Family, and has never taken a dime of salary in his 40 years in ministry.

The criticism of Rabey, made through the years, is that Dr. Dobson is a dishonorable man whose motives were unclear. The truth is that this Christian psychologist has had one major objective with his life. It has been to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible.

In short, Rabey forgot a few details in his article; don't you think?

Kay Jordan

Colorado Springs

Red tape at a high price

Right before the end of the Obama administration, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rushed through an unnecessary and duplicative methane emission rule that creates a costly barrier to energy development on public lands.

Recently, the House approved measures to roll back this hasty, eleventh-hour overreach. Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner should support a proposed resolution to reverse the BLM rule.

Methane emissions are already regulated by the states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Colorado in fact has some of the toughest methane emission rules in the nation.

The BLM rule imposes new red tape at an extraordinary price. New compliance costs could limit energy investments and shut down many Colorado wells, costing jobs and reducing royalty revenue streams that help fund Colorado schools and community services.

Colorado already benefits from strict but sensible energy regulations that protect communities and the environment while enabling energy development to proceed. The new BLM rule disrupts this balance.

Sens. Bennet and Gardner have been champions of well-regulated Colorado energy development. They should continue to support this important part of our state's economy by voting to reverse the BLM emission rule.

Jeff Wasden

Denver

Good job on nice new median

So, Colorado Springs recently spent tax dollars to redo this median at Lake Avenue and Cheyenne Road. Look how cozy it is for our fair panhandlers, nice and wide, a smooth surface to beg on. Oh, hey, look, even a coat rack. Before, it was a river rock median, guess the panhandlers complained of the discomfort of having to stand on rocks. When they finished this median, I swear they made it just for panhandlers! Newsflash! They are still at a dangerous distraction!

Kelly Jordan

Calhan

Sexton's column helps avoid scams

I am happy that The Gazette prints Betty Sexton's column that exposes business ripoffs. As someone who is not particularly computer savvy, I especially appreciated Betty's information about being defrauded online. She provided valuable tips to avoid being scammed.

There's nothing businesses won't do to separate consumers from their money. Profits are more important than people. Thanks, Betty, for letting us know of the crooked things that businesspeople do and how consumers can stop them.